Champions League Draw: English Sides Avoid Real Madrid & Inter Milan

England's quartet of Champions League contenders Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United were all braced for an encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid.

Big-spending Real, who this summer signed Ronaldo along with Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol, were in the second group of seeds, meaning they could be drawn alongside any of the English sides.

The 32 teams were split into four pots, based on their UEFA coefficient, with one team from every pot going into each of the eight groups. As always, two teams from the same country could not draw each other, so necessary steps were taken to conveniently avoid that.

Both Manchester United & Liverpool are expected to top their respective groups, but could face one or two awkward obstacles on the way. United faces trips to Moscow and Istanbul, while Liverpool face a talented Fiorentina side and French masters Lyon as well as debutantes Debrecen.

So there you have it. Another season of top draw European football is all set to go. Any bets on Chelsea & Liverpool facing each other somewhere along the line?